Living in Ipswich

[florisse]

We're looking for a cheaper place to live so we can have a smaller mortgage - and be closer to beaches and countryside. Moving from Stratford area (London) but need easy-ish access to Stratford / Liverpool Street for work, but only 1-2 days a week. Working from home rest of the time.

We've looked at Colchester, but can't really afford the kind of house we would like there, though not ruling it out.

Saw this house in Ipswich which would be exactly the sort of thing I'd love to buy: Woodbridge Road, Ipswich
https://www.rightmove.co.uk/property-for-sale/property-96244532.html

I'm drawn to the access to Suffolk countryside, beaches, access to Norwich where I lived as a kid. Train to Stratford and friends in 1hr 15m.

What's it like there, if you know Ipswich? Kids are 4 and 7 btw...

Thanks

Ipswich is on the main line , good service to London , you would normally have to change at Ipswich for any of the villages

A bit rough in Suffolk is different to a bit rough in London you will probably find! That house in particular though is right next to a large primary school though which explains the price. That said if you want to live centrally there are some really nice areas by the park and lots of beautiful houses for not very much money comparatively. IP4 and parts of IP1 sit in that central Christchurch Park area and are mostly period houses. Some of the streets aren’t the nicest, the nicest being Corder Road, Constable Road, Gainsborough Road and parts of Park Road and Henley Road. BUT - there are gorgeous houses on other roads near those which are much cheaper and not that much less nice imo. Be wary of HMO properties etc in the area though just because of parking and volume of noise etc - and if you can get somewhere with off road parking because it’s a pig anywhere around there. Good luck OP, people are sniffy about Ipswich and yes it’s not as nice as Norwich and it’s true that there are villages and towns close by which are nicer but there are much worse places to live.

Thanks @247SylviaPlath that's really helpful. There are some gorgeous houses on those roads aren't there?! But def out of our price bracket... will keep an eye out for anything that comes on round that area though.

Unless you specifically want to be in Ipswich, it might be worth looking at places within easy reach of Stowmarket or Manningtree - both are on the main rail line. We're in South Suffolk and in normal times my husband commutes from Manningtree, which is only an hour to L Street. Houses in the nicest areas of Ipswich can be pricey, unless you head out towards Rushmere and beyond (which don't really feel like Ipswich), but there are still bargains to be had. Traffic isn't dreadful anywhere, I don't think - certainly not compared to London and Colchester

Manningtree is closer to London ,popular commute distance . less sure if it would be good for teens?

Stowmarket is a longer journey and feels more deprived and less diverse than Ipswich , but that's just an impression ( my friends there moved away some years ago )

I've name changed for this.

I moved to Ipswich for DH's job some years ago. Here are my thoughts.

Ipswich does get undeserved bad press. There are many worse places to live. The positives for me are that it is a relatively safe place to live. We've experienced less anti-social behaviour here than where we moved from in the South. There is lots to do for young people and children without having to drive far. We can easily live our lives within a 10 mile radius week to week. Beaches and countryside are quick to access.

My personal negatives are that I don't rate any of the secondary schools highly, even the 3 favoured ones in the north and east. As for primary schools, there are many faith schools in the town which get the best results and leaves the non-faith primaries lacking. My dc went to a non-state primary in the town and it had low expectations of the student body. I now realise that other people 'like me' who did not want to use the faith schools in the town, sent their children to small outlying village primary schools.

I still feel like an outsider here. It's not the easiest town to make friends in because many of the people you meet have lived here all of their lives or moved back because they have family here. You won't find an abundance of people who have moved in to the area with no family connection here. People are nice in Ipswich. I find people polite and friendly enough but my close friends are all people who are incomers with no previous connection to the area. And they were hard to find.

The town centre was fairly pleasant when I moved here. It was on its way up for a short time and has declined ever since. People now seek to avoid the town centre.

Suffolk is not well connected by rail or road. The A12 and A14 are two lane roads full of lorries coming and going to Felixstowe. Train fares from Ipswich are steep. We assumed we would be making frequent day trips to London but an open day return costs over £100 for 2 adults and 2 children. An off-peak day return to Norwich - 45 minutes away and the nearest good shopping - costs £20.

If you want to retain links with London, I would recommend moving to somewhere in Essex.

Thanks for your helpful review @notmyhome - I've sent you a PM rather than ask questions on thread...

If only houses weren't so bloody expensive!

In terms of the commute and cost of rail fares , we did frequent day trips from Manningtree ( 15 mins south of Ipswich ) which is in the outer London zone . You can get off pick all day travel card and return for under 16s for £10.00.

I usually commute from Manningtree ( pre Covid) but live just North of Ipswich

@MrsTabithaTwitchit as someone said upthread, I think I'm so used to how close you need to be to the tube in London I can't imagine driving 5 miles to get to a station! Good to know about Manningtree being in the outer london zone...

I think Ipswich gets more of a bad rep than it deserves, it has a lot going for it. Of course it has some questionable ares, it's a large town. I live out to the South West which people say is "rough" but its absolutely fine and very quiet. I walk alone in the dark after work in the late evenings and never had an issue.

Great parks, good public transport and very multicultural. Lovely theatre and lots of community activities. Highstreet isn't the bed but the waterfront area is lovely and on the up

I think Ipswich is really nice. I didn't grow up there, but my grandparents lived there (and in a couple of surrounding villages) most of their lives, and I still have lots of aunts, uncles and cousins in the area. I have really fond memories of Christchurch Park and for that reason I keep looking at houses nearby or that back onto the park, but it does look like there is a massive premium to be paid for those. Going by the parts of Ipswich that family members still live in, I'd say that there are definitely nicer and more run down parts. I guess like with any city.
I agree with previous posters that a lot of people who live there have always lived there, have close networks and could therefore potentially be quite clicky. That being said, I know my granny had neighbours who had moved from East London and absolutely loved Ipswich.
I can't comment on schools, but as a young person who'd often spend the whole summer 6 weeks holidays there, there was definitely a nice balance of things to do... cinema, shopping, swimming, all different parks to explore, a mansion house/museum.. you could take the bus to Felixstowe for a seaside day out. (I may have had low standards though because I lived somewhere very rural at the time.!)
Train into London = fine for a day or so a week but would be quite draining for a 5 days per week commute. I could be wrong, but I think the train goes into Liverpool St and takes about 2 hours.

I honestly wouldnt mind living in ipswich as long as it was town centre and not the suburbs. I love the ipswich film theatre. Theres the regent etc. Ive seen loads of good shows there.
Some parts of ipswich are rough in that theres a reputation for gangs or drugs, but I dont know which parts are which, and I dont think its worse than anywhere else necessarily. Obviously little villages in the sticks are safer and naicer, but depends if you actually want to go out and do anything, or drive all the time

What about melton/woodbridge/Saxmundham/wickham market ? I'd avoid ipswich tbh. With young kids.

We moved to Ipswich last autumn and we actually live quite close to that house you were originally looking at :)

I like it here. I’ve lived in larger cities most of my life, and I think while some parts of Ipswich might be considered a bit rough, it definitely has some lovely areas, like the parks and the waterfront.

So far I’ve also felt pretty safe here, I’ve been out for runs late in the evening and never had any issues.

I feel like Ipswich is getting quite a bit of unjustified bad press. It always depends on what you like and are used to, but I feel pretty comfortable here.

Coming from abroad myself, I like the diversity in Ipswich and that I hear different languages at drop-off at my kids’ school. And we’ve met some lovely people here. Feel free to DM me, I’m happy to chat :)